Back in the day, when I was a college student in New Delhi, I used to listen to a lot of radio. One of them was a newly launched women’s channel that became very popular with the Delhi residents. I had plenty of time on my hands so I used to call them, request songs, talk about issues, voice my opinions etc. Once the RJ asked of the callers to name two women personalities we admire and why. I called in and I said, “Well, my first one has to be the late Kalpana Chawla”. The RJ, a woman, instantly played a cheery trombone sound and said it was a great choice and asked me to name the second one. I said, “Aishwarya Rai”. She was silent and then she played the sound of the poop being flushed down the toilet. It was very embarrassing for me so I hung up.

I remember discussing with my friends who our favorite actresses/celebrities were. I said, “Aishwarya Rai”. My friend said, “She is too vicious and bitchy”. I asked, “Why?” I wondered if Aishwarya and her shared a kaam wali bai who was spilling all the secrets of the Bachchan household. She said, “I don’t know, have you seen her interviews? That fake accent! And she appears too arrogant”. Everyone else concurred and I shut up again as I realized that reasoning with stupidity and hatred was a pointless activity. Aishwarya to me is an embodiment of all that they preach in self help books. While many online seem to debate on the accent and/or how bad a dress looks on her, I choose to hear what she says. And I learn something new every single time. A great career coupled with a remarkable attitude towards life. What’s not to like? I sure, however, have been wary of letting people know of my adulation for her since I, unbelievably so, risk either instant alienation or being an audience to major league stupidity. I have come to terms that it’s just fashionable to hate her.

Priyanka Chopra is the new age Aishwarya Rai. She comes from a humble middle class background and is now in a commanding position in an industry in which the number of movies with the Khans you can snag in your career, remains the barometer of how successful a heroine you are. Priyanka is far more daring than the reticent Aishwarya and makes her sole intention of becoming an overachiever unabashedly known. While the west has whole-heartedly accepted her gregariousness because she blended in so seamlessly, we Indians seem to have a lot of issues. Watch any YouTube video of her and see the overwhelming amount of hate mongering from Indians alone. I dread that ‘I hate Priyanka Chopra’ is going to be the new ‘I hate Aishwarya Rai’- only more vicious and definitely more rampant. I said vicious, because her celebrity-hood is only going to get bigger and grander in magnitude. And rampant because of the anonymity and liberties granted by the Internet to say whatever one wants.

One thing that frequently comes up in judging an Indian film star (esp. one who has become more internationally known) is the accent. Might I ask, what is it about an American accent that makes it so revolting to an Indian if Priyanka or Aishwarya speak even with a slight intonation. Unlike the British accent, the American accent is far less refined, requires minimal effort to emulate, and is understood by everyone thanks to the universal appeal of Hollywood movies. Therefore, speaking in one is hardly being snobbish or uppity and is more about fitting in. I have been in the US for almost a decade. I cannot not roll my Rs when I say ‘Burrito’ or ‘America’ because otherwise the waiters, tellers and cashiers simply won’t understand me. While I am a mere mortal, these women are the most successful goddesses from the entertainment industry, which technically mandates them to carry themselves with aplomb, grace and confidence. They meet thousands of people at various events. They hire accent coaches so they may be understood better by the world. Why doesn’t anyone raise any objections when Russell Peter’s shows run houseful in India? The guy essentially made a career out of mimicking the Indian accent for Indians to watch (he isn’t very well known in the US). And the hate mongers attack these women for even a semblance of an American twang or for dropping the Indian accent precisely at the right places in their speeches. Isn’t that a double standard?

So, I tried to put myself in these ladies’ shoes for a few minutes. I shuddered simply at the thought of being known by people around the world or being a representative of a nation of 1.2 billion people. I thought of all the things I would do or every faux pas I would commit becoming a public spectacle through the prying, predatory flashbulbs constantly wanting to trail me to my bedroom. Granted, there would be plenty of money, but it didn’t seem like it would matter much because something bigger, more valuable would be at stake all the damn time. As you can see, I was quick to realize that it was not a territory I would want to chart in even hypothetically. What is the probability that any of us will ever get the Padma Shri? Yup, it’s zilch. Probably 0.000001 if we work insanely hard in the nation’s interest and are taken notice of. These women have been around 15+ years carefully carving their reputation for being rock solid professional women. They consistently upped their game in the business, never slighting India or Indian Film Industry to please anyone in the west. They carry their Indian-ness with a degree of sophistication that we can only hope to embody. All this while so many of their own countrymen, bitter, bereft of any conscience and infested with crab mentality take pleasure in hurling hateful comments over social platforms. Some of them are downright sickening to the gills. Perhaps we can take cues from the way Americans love Jennifer Lawrence who drops an F bomb in every other interview and everyone (including Indians) gush over how endearing it is. So long as a self-assured woman is a foreigner, we are fine with it but we hold in disdain the Aishwaryas or Priyankas or even Smriti Iranis for their extraordinary self-confidence. What is the rest of the world going to make of this, I don’t know. But it surely is making a laughing stock out of us. Hate is the worst sentiment to invest in to begin with, let alone towards someone who is iconic.

Meanwhile, I am glad that the obnoxious “Women’s” FM channel was shut down two years after it’s launch.
Jha